Homnova
The Homnova is the term used to define the first generation of men, created in unison by the Elder Spirits and containing some of the essence of each. Creation The Homnova were created with rudementary intelligence, however recognized their own capacity to grow. They quickly saw the merit of grouping together to hunt for food or water, rather than as individuals. Because of their relliance on one another, they rarely fought amungst themselves, caring for each other as family. It is unknown how many Homnova were created from the start, but the earliest form of census records approximate13,000 around 40 years after creation. Development The greatest gift the Homnova may have possessed was their minds. The constant need for food helped to develop organized hunting parties that set out in turns. The hot sun also gave need for shelter. Many individuals began an attempt at creating rudimentary housing. Most of these early attempts failed. Those who succeeded to build a shelter sturdy and large enough for a family wanted to share their sucess. This led to the development of written communication by carving drawings and symbols into the bones of the animals slain for food, and eventually stone. The hunting parties, who had developed distinct sounds to signal to each other while hunting wild game would return and assist in assigning verbal cues to represent the symbols used in writing. Civilization Decades of constant development of language and process helped create large cities excavated from stone. In the center of the new developments was created the first birthing house. A center where pregnant females would congrigate to take care of one another and assist in raising children as a group, teaching them to trust and depend on each other through their first four years of life. Children then moved on to live in a large arena-like structure with a giant slab of smooth rock in it's center. On the rock was carved each written symbol used for both writing and speech. The symbols were believe to have numbered in the thousands by this time. Children spent the next 4 years of their lives learning to read, write, and speak each symbol. They also dabbled in various supervised activities in hunting, building, and preparing food. The adults in attendance watched each closely too look for signs of affinity towards one task or another. By the eighth year of age all children were sorted into the professions best suited for them after 4 years of study and practice. They would move on to become apprentances within their selected talent, and eventually replcaed those too elderly or too sick to continue on. There were believed to be 7 major cities towards the end of the age of the Homnova, roughly 865 years from creation (865c). Three of these cities were huddled close together across the plains in the heart of The Known. Two additional cities stretched towards the west and were connected by road. Another city was built along the cliffs of a great bay where there would be ample water and food supply. The seventh city was far removed from the others and was long thought to have rested and the foot of the Tempsolum to the north. It is now known that great calamity befell the people there and many fled farther east through the jungles and into the Wyrmlands. There they fell into obscurity. Demise The Homnova civilization flourished, some becoming extremely wealthy by their standards by trading excess food or other products for items of greater worth to themselves. These became the first merchants. The city built along the harbor, become known as White Harbor, flourished more than most. These citizines built power with their wealth and began to establish caste systems amung the people. Arguements began as Grey Harbor became greedy and mistrusting of one another. They selected the greatest hunters and merchants of wealth to travel to the subsequent cities and establish their better-perceived rules of order. There were minor revolts in each outlying city, mostly by the elderly whose ways have gone pleasantly unchanged. It was documented that a confrontation on the western city of Valirok led to fighting and death by the hands of the hunters sent to intemidate them. The rest of the city cowed at this new concept of murder. Word swept quickly back across each city where the process repeated. With each territory broken, a young hunter called Dhan- the first to kill in Valirok, returned to Gray Harbor a hero. There he rose in prowress and was exclaimed king in 1007c. King Dhan ruled with an iron fist and declared a new age. Thus the age of the Homnova had ended.